Your Honor.” Deirmid did not look happy about that decision, but so be it. You can’t always get what you want.
“Defendant will take the stand,” I said, sounding officious and not minding that I sounded officious.
Niall came forward, climbed the single steep step, and sat.
“You’re aware that you’re in a bespelled environment and that you will be compelled to tell the truth?” He nodded.
When I continued to stare, he said, “Aye, Your Honor.”
I nodded. “Ombudsman. The witness is yours.”
“Prince Niall,” Max said as he rose and walked toward the defendant. “Was the capture of the kelpie planned?”
“Aye.”
“Did you think the attempt to take a kelpie prisoner might be dangerous?”
“No’ really.”
“Didn’t your mother caution you about being careful near water? Because our kind can be taken to the depths and never heard from again?”
“She did. I guess I just thought I’d be fine.”
“I see. So, you didn’t think there was any real risk and you set out to capture a kelpie. Why?”
He shrugged. “I knew I’d ne’er be king of Irish fae. Because I have an older brother. But I realized that if I got a kelpie, I could be king of all the kelpies.”
The boy had a serious case of second-son syndrome, but I had to grudgingly admire his ambition.
“And why would you want to be king of kelpies?”
“Well, think about it. If all the kelpies were takin’ orders from me, I’d be the most dangerous man in the world. Kelpies can appear in any sort of water anywhere. I mean as long as ‘tis as big as they are. No’ like a toilet sink.”
There was laughter in the courtroom. I banged the gavel twice and the noise quieted.
“So your plan was to become king of the kelpies and use them to make you the most feared man? Anywhere?”
The kid grinned. “More or less.”
Gads. The kid was Doctor No with a pretty face.
“What does your father think about this?”
Deirmid leapt to his feet. “OBJECTION, YOUR HONOR! OUT OF BOUNDS.”
I looked at Deirmid. “Out of bounds? Is that a legal phrase?”
“I do no’ know. I mean ‘tis somethin’ the man has no business askin’.”
“Why not?” Deirmid pressed his lips together and glared. “Overruled. The witness will answer.”
“My father is no’ round,” Niall said.
“Your mother, the queen, is a single parent?”
“Aye. She is,” he said.
“What did you believe you would gain by being the most feared man among magic kind?”
“Respect.” Max nodded. “Do you think kelpies are the same as domesticated horses?”
Niall laughed. “O’ course no’.”
“Did you believe when you moved this scheme forward that you were planning to imprison a fae creature with free spirit?”
“Aye. I did.”
A wave of muffled conversation rose. Deirmid scrubbed his hand down his face.
“That would contradict your brother’s argument that kelpies are no different than thoroughbreds.”
Niall smiled. “Shite. And he knows it. A kelpie is not a common horse.”
“Hmmm. So, where are you keeping the kelpie, Keaira?”
“In the castle.”
“In the castle in a room? A stall? A swimming pool?”
“I converted one of the rooms in my wing to a stall. She stays there.”
“What keeps her from leaving?”
“Spelled barriers on all sides.”
“Why doesn’t she just change forms and slip away?”
“My, em, a girl I know can charm things. The kelpie wears a halter that’s been charmed to keep her in horse form.”
“Does she get out for exercise?”
“No.”
“Does she get to spend time in water?”
“No.”
“Do you think she likes it where she is?”
“No.”
“So, your brother’s attempt to characterize her as a pet is not appropriate, is it?”
“No. She’s no’ there to be entertained. She’s there to serve me.”
Max let that hang in the air for a minute before he turned to me. “Your Honor, that’s all I have for now, but I’d like to reserve the privilege of recalling this witness.”
“Granted,” I said.
“I’d like to call Master Wizard, Elmswerth Dudley, to the stand, Your Honor. He’s a bureau expert on kelpies.”
“Alright, Ombudsman. I’ll hear from your witness.”
I’m sure I wasn’t expecting someone who looked like an escapee from the lot of a Harry Potter film, but I wasn’t expecting Dudley either. He’d been sitting on the main aisle about a third of the way back. As he stepped into the aisle and began making his way forward, I scanned him from head to toe.
The only thing about him that gave away age was his long white-as-snow hair. He was tan, with a hard, wiry build that suggested both strength and youth. The planes of his face were sculpted and defined; sharp cheekbones, prominent jaw. He wore faded jeans,